There was pandemonium as the Bureau De Change operators at the popular Wuse Zone 4, Abuja market resisted arrest by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to two currency traders who witnessed the incident, on Tuesday, operatives attempted to conduct routine raids to remove street traders from the market and stop unregulated trading. However, these actions were met with resistance, resulting in gunshots and damage to the operatives’ vehicles.
Two traders, who wished to remain anonymous, have revealed that recent arrests made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have caused frustration among traders in the area. The traders claim that some of the arrests were made to extort money from them and that the EFCC’s raids are becoming too frequent.
One of the traders said that the EFCC conducted a raid on Monday and returned the following day with a stronger operation. The traders resisted the arrests, leading to gunshots being fired and damage to EFCC vehicles. The trader warned that continued raids could result in violence and even killings.
The second trader, who also wished to remain anonymous, echoed the concerns and warned that if the EFCC continued to arrest traders, it could escalate into a more dangerous situation.
“That was happened today. People are now turning because all they do after arrest is to collect money from us. Nothing else is done. They are frustrating use.’
The EFCC had resumed raiding in a bid to stabilise the naira.
Penultimate week, the commission arrested over 35 suspected currency speculators for alleged foreign exchange fraud.
Last week, it also paraded over 20 BDC operators arrested in the capital city.
Despite these efforts, the naira has continued on a free fall.
On the rates, the operators said they bought the dollar at N1,400 and sold at N1,425 per dollar leaving a profit margin of N25.
It also indicated an N5 drop from the N1,430 it sold on Monday.
A trader, Malam Yahu, complained of the market fluctuation, adding that it was now difficult to project what the rates would trade at.
He said, “Right now the market is just fluctuating, the naira is not stable at all and that’s why we are even sceptical about buying now. We can’t even predict how the market will trade.
“For instance, after today’s arrest, I didn’t buy or make sales to avoid a loss. I bought it earlier today at N1,400 and sold it at N1,425.
“We have also noticed that once the prices go up, there will be scarcity because they would expect the naira to drop further but if it’s at a loss, they would then rush to sell it off.”
At the official market, data obtained from the FMDQ exchange securities revealed that the currency depreciated to N1,416/$ from N1,354/$ recorded at the foreign exchange market on Monday.
